United said player-coach Ryan Giggs will take charge "until a permanent appointment can be made".

His first match as interim boss will be the home game against Norwich on Saturday.

The BBC understands coaches Steve Round and Jimmy Lumsden have also left their posts, but goalkeeping coach Chris Woods and first-team coach Phil Neville will remain with the club for the rest of the season.

United shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, were up more than 6.5 per cent at $18.80 at 1830 BST, signalling investor relief at the decision to sack Moyes.

On Monday, United had refused to comment on
newspaper reports
that Moyes, who left Everton to sign a six-year deal with the Premier League champions, would be sacked before the end of the season.

Man Utd's disappointing season

Defeated in Champions League quarter-final by Bayern Munich

Beaten in League Cup semi-final by Sunderland

Lost at home to Swansea in the third round of the FA Cup

Five points from a possible 24 against the current Premier League top four of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal

Defeat against Everton confirmed club will miss out on Champions League for first time since 1995-96

However, those reports prompted club officials to hold talks with the Scot late on Monday in a move designed to prevent a drawn-out dismissal process.

In a short statement on Tuesday, the club said Moyes had departed, adding it "would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role".

However, Klopp has ruled himself out of the job, the 46-year-old
telling The Guardian:
"Man Utd is a great club and I feel very familiar with their wonderful fans. But my commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is not breakable."

Former Manchester United and England striker
Michael Owen said on Twitter:
"Huge news at Old Trafford but with the summer looming and a huge transfer kitty available United had to be 100% Moyes was the right man.

"Evidently they didn't have the confidence in him in which case makes the timing absolutely right. Now the big question is who's next?"

In March, some supporters
chartered a plane to fly overhead
during their Premier League game against Aston Villa trailing a banner with the words "Wrong One - Moyes Out", a reference to the banner at Old Trafford that proclaimed Moyes to be the "Chosen One".

A spectator dressed as the Grim Reaper taunted Moyes in his last game in charge of Manchester United

The Red Devils will miss out on Champions League football for the first time since 1995 and are in danger of missing out on European competition altogether for the first time since 1990.

But the Scot has been dogged by claims he has fallen out with members of his squad.

When midfielder Anderson joined Serie A side Fiorentina on loan in January, he was quoted as saying other
United players "wanted out"
although he later denied it.

Analysis

Simon StoneBBC Sport

The sacking of Moyes was inevitable after Sunday's awful performance at Everton.

A dressing-room source labelled the performance as "lacking desire and passion" and "the basic heart of the team has disappeared". It had seemed for some time the players had stopped trying for Moyes. This confirmed it.

In truth, the Scot has never looked at ease in the job. He was taken aback by the sheer scale of the media interest in United and failed to impress players who own more medals than he can ever hope to amass.

The big problem for United is that, having taken Sir Alex Ferguson's word on the appointment, who do they turn to now?

Rio Ferdinand
and
Robin van Persie
also made less than complimentary comments about his management style, while Javier Hernandez and Wilfried Zaha posted cryptic quotes on Twitter.

However, things quickly got worse with defeats at Anfield and Etihad Stadium, setting the tone for what would become United's worst Premier League season.

With the exception of the additional 21 games Matt Busby (manager from 1945-1969) had in charge as emergency manager following Wilf McGuinness's exit in 1970, and the 22 games when Jimmy Murphy stood in for Busby
after the Munich air crash,
Moyes's reign represents the third shortest in United history.

It is also the first time since 6 November 1986 that Manchester United have sacked a manager.

The Scot's 51 games in charge exceeds the 43 matches that Walter Crickmer presided over during the first of two spells as manager.

Lal Hilditch was in charge for the shortest time, lasting just 33 games between October 1926 and April 1927.

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